An aerated line is a poetic line intentionally structured with ample internal pauses, caesuras, or strategic white space to create a sense of breathiness, lightness, or openness, often mimicking natural respiration or evoking ethereal or contemplative states; such lines may employ sparse diction, frequent enjambment, or irregular rhythm to produce a “light” or “floating” effect, as found in the work of poets like William Carlos Williams or Jorie Graham, where the visual and rhythmic spacing invites the reader to slow down and inhabit the poem’s temporal and emotional atmosphere.

Lines with deliberate spacing or breath breaks creating an "airy" quality. Common in contemporary free verse. Compare with breath-based lineation. Useful for slowing reader pace or emphasizing silence.